InterContinental Buenos Aires

A tall corporate-looking tower a few blocks from the Plaza de Mayo and the banking district. While the atmosphere and most amenities are aimed at business travellers, the hotel has a large indoor pool and is handy for San Telmo and downtown; the upper floors afford guests panoramic views.

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£110per night

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Location

7/10

The hotel was strategically built near to international banks, insurance agents and government departments, a couple of blocks east of the heavily trafficked urban chasm known as Avenida 9 de Julio. For leisure travellers, it’s convenient for characterful San Telmo – a few minutes' walk away – and there are plenty of dining options in the vicinity. The Moreno subte (metro) stop is very close. Ezeiza international airport is 45 minutes away by taxi.

Style & character

7/10

Built in the early Nineties, this 19-floor tower is beginning to look dated, and is not quite the 'modern' classic trumpeted on the website. The façade is solid and cement-heavy, unlike newer glass-and-steel structures in the area, and the design lines are functional and muscularly macho. Inside, sweeping, highly polished marble staircases, photographs of sunsets and heavy wooden furniture reinforce the solid, corporate feel. The one 'soft' area is the courtyard, the Terraza di Virrey – a glass-walled winter-garden filled with potted plants, where grilled meats are served.

Service & facilities

7/10

The huge reception always has three or four officious-looking staff in position at a long desk (the hotel claims six languages are spoken), but it still gets busy, queues forming when aircrew or large delegations arrive. Service is slick and polite, if somewhat impersonal. The hotel has five-star hotel amenities, including on-site parking, hairdresser’s, on-call doctor, valet parking ($15/£11), ice machines on each floor, plus an indoor pool, fitness centre with sauna and a well-run spa. A grand piano in the lobby provides the requisite soundtrack.

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Fitness centre

Laundry

Parking

Pool

Restaurant

Room service

Sauna

Spa

Steam room/hammam

Wi-Fi

Rooms

7/10

The 309 rooms (including 10 suites) are somewhere between sober and sophisticated, with dark wood furnishings, plain curtains, heavy lampshades featuring bronze sculptures – stately, but not especially stylish. The queen-sized beds in the standard rooms are very comfortable, and bathrooms have a separate shower and small bath. Suites, as well as offering more space, have high-grade linen, CD players and butler service. All rooms have smart TVs, minibars and tea and coffee-making facilities.

Food & drink

7/10

Breakfast, served in the august Mediterraneo restaurant (all white linen and plush carpets) is a handsome spread of fresh fruits and fruit cocktail, yogurt and yogurt drinks, cereals, medialunas (sweet croissants), ham and cheese, juice and coffee, and eggs made to order. Freshly made espresso is available at no extra charge. For lunch and dinner the same venue has a seasonal menu – typical mains are a tasty lamb en croute and tender steak in rich malbec sauce – though because lots of people prefer to go out in search of homelier restaurants it can be empty and lacking in atmosphere. There’s also a 1920s-style café/bar serving decent cocktails, a lobby bar and a grill restaurant in the winter garden.